Election 2011: Shreve mayor
Money a priority

Published: November 1, 2011 12:00 AM

By AMANDA ROLIKStaff WriterSHREVE -- Fiscal responsibility is a major goal for both of the village's mayoral candidates.With the village running on a tight budget, incumbent Jacki Chamberlain believes managing the community's finances in a responsible way is a top priority."Our village has wasted and misspent too much money in prior years because those in charge were not held accountable for their spending," said Chamberlain.Chamberlain has served as mayor for 2 1/2 years, since the previous mayor resigned. Before that she was a council president for two years and a council member for six years. She is a member of the Mayors Association of Ohio, Wayne County Mayors Association, Ohio Municipal League, Shreve Business and Community Association, County Line Historical Society, Girl Scouts of America and is a member and chaplain of the Shreve American Legion Auxiliary. She has lived in Shreve for 21 years.Challenger Bruce Biggs sees the economic downturn, and the effect it is having on the village, as the biggest reason to run for office."I feel that it's not going to get any better for awhile. I think we need to work with what we have and consider repairing instead of replacing," said Biggs.Now retired, Biggs previously was employed by the village for 27 years, 20 of which he spent as utilities supervisor. Before that, Biggs served on council for four years and as mayor for four years.As a lifelong resident of Shreve, as well as a former mayor, Biggs wants to see the village be able to maintain what it has been able to accomplish in the past.When Chamberlain became mayor, the village had just been declared "inauditable" by the state, and its financial records were in a state of "chaos," Chamberlain said.Chamberlain said Shreve cannot afford to go back to the way its finances were handled in the past, and managing a community of Shreve's size is "serious business.""Shreve deserves a mayor who takes the responsibility of this office seriously and cares about our village. I know I am that person and I want to continue to be mayor."If elected, Biggs hopes to avoid asking residents to pay more taxes. He stressed he does not want to view the people as a kind of scapegoat for the village's financial problems."I want to make sure there are other options available," he said. "My goal is to do everything possible with what we have before we ask for additional money."As Biggs sees it, the priority is eliminating unnecessary expenses, and trying to do "what we can with what we have."Chamberlain aims to continue achieving grant money for the village to fund various improvement projects."I am very proud that during my term as mayor, Shreve has been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant monies. .. and for a village of our size this is huge," Chamberlain said.Chamberlain insists that grant funding "doesn't happen by accident," and that it takes a lot of planning, hard work and marketing."That's where the professionalism and capability of a mayor comes in," said Chamberlain.She believes that she, along with fellow residents, employees, community leaders and business owners have become a team of concerned citizens."I want to continue as an essential part of that team," Chamberlain said.Biggs hopes to create a relationship with the community members by staying in open communication with the residents, and work with them to solve issues."I feel that when they did have problems ... that I helped them out the best that I could," Biggs said of his time serving the village.Reporter Amanda Rolik can be reached at 330-287-1635 or arolik@the-daily-record.com.